Louisiana
Confusion on La. 22 leads to slew of traffic tickets Thursday, December 10th, 2009
At what point should transportation authorities and traffic courts acknowledge a problem with a traffic sign if a large number of people keep making the same mistake and misreading the same situation on a roadway?
Drivers are arguing that the large number of traffic tickets issued by Sorrento police on La. 22 is evidence of the failure to communicate. La. 22 is a four-lane highway with a median that runs past a community college. A cut-through in the median lines up with the college’s main exit.
The cut-through appears to offer a direct path for drivers to exit the college, cross the southbound lanes of traffic (which pass in front of the college) enter the cut-through and make a left turn into the northbound lanes. Traffic signs on the median cut-through, however, say “Do Not Enter” and “One Way,” with the one-way arrow pointing in the direction of southbound traffic and opposite the direction of a left-turn heading out of the median.
Sorrento Police argue that the meaning of the signs is clear–don’t enter (thus the “Do Not Enter” sign) the median and attempt to make the left turn to head northbound. If you exit the college, you’ll need to head southbound only (thus the “One Way” sign).
Sorrento Police Chief Earl Theriot Jr. said the signs’ meaning is clear: Drivers leaving that school exit cannot make a left turn through the median. No sign at the intersection specifically indicates a left turn is illegal, but, the chief says, if you cannot enter the median, you certainly can’t turn through it.
This semester, officers stepped up enforcement and started writing tickets, probably close to 75 so far. Officers park their patrol cars near the college exit and pull drivers over for making the left turn. Most drivers claim ignorance when pulled over.
The question is whether this is actual confusion by the motorists or defiance of the law masked by a claim of ignorance.
If such tickets are challenged in a Louisiana traffic court, it will ultimately be up to the judge to decide.
Submitted by Scott Feifer
NY Traffic Ticket Lawyer
Feifer & Greenberg, LLP
NYTicketHELP.com
